A place to ask all your short automotive related questions.
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I'm changing my rear brake pads this weekend, I've bought a winding tool, i already own a ratchet set along with a torque wrench for the wheels. I'm worried my winding tool wont be correct, is there anything i can do to compress the brake piston if it turns out to be not compatible, any useful tips for changing brakes would be helpful too
Should I modify the exhaust on my scat pack chally or is factory good enough. I'm in love with the way it sounds as is so I hate to mess with it but part of me wonders if there's a way to make it sound even better
G clamp as a backup.
YouTube and in person with modded cars like yours.
>oil light comes on for 10 seconds, then goes
>stop at next garage to buy oil
>check oil and fill up
>can't see any oil on the dip stick
What the fuck? Am I just being blind? I read it could be because the engine is still warm?
Add some. Your car is burning or leaking a bit of it.
Wipe the dip and check it again. You should always see oil on the dip even if the engine is hot, you just won't get an accurate reading of the oil level.
helli jelly.. wish i could afford one
Just posted in old thread, but reposting again to guarantee answers
I want to do a Roadkill-style build on some rusting American classic from the 60s or early 70s. My question(s): where do I go to find cheap rollers, and what are the cheapest donor vehicle options for big block v8s from each of the big 3 American companies (Dodge, Chevy, Ford)?
>rusting American classic from the 60s or early 70s
Be prepared to pay 10k plus for a rolling shell that is structurally unsound, that is the muscle car era.
You want cheap? Look towards the malaise era late seventies early 80's.
Insofar as engines you can find BBC 454's And BBF 460's if you look hard enough, but they'll come out of old trucks and RV's not from the actual cars that you would be buying, which means you'll definitely need a rebuild unless you want a crate motor.
What would be a good year/model to start looking at? That pretty much rules out the Challenger. I've never been big into Fords, but I could hang with a 2nd-gen mustang. 2nd/3rd gen f-bodies aren't really what I'm going for, how about late 70s g/a-bodies like a chevelle, Malibu or Monte Carlo?
How do I get involved in the UK car scene without going to some faggy meeting of arabs with cars from oil money and actually to something interesting and worthwhile? Arabs have ruined what was left of UK car culture
going to put my old 95 Trooper up for sale on craigslist soon anyone have advice for selling? never sold a car before and don't want to get completely ripped off. just curious about the best way to word the ad, if I should set the asking price higher than what I actually expect to get etc
What are the chances this guy will trade his AW11 for my foxbody? Mine is all stock and his is fully modified.
lawrence.craigslist.org
>upstate newyork military base (no garage)
>have $10k+ saved up, but spending it all on a vehicle(including maintenance into the cost) is highly annoying
>spend ~$8k on nice clean awd bmw to last a decade at least
vs
>spend ~$4k on shitty pickup to last ~3 years
What would you do?
why doesn't harley make liter bike crotch rockets? I think they would sell pretty well
Tell me about the Mazda3?
You sure that BMW would last a decade and you'd want to keep it that long and that you'd be able to cover maintenance? I don't know what your future holds, but that seems like a little bit of a tenuous proposition.
I'd lean toward the shitty pickup to dump after my financial situation were in pretty solid shape, unless I had good reason to believe it's going to be no problem pretty soon.
If I'm using the same head bolts, does it matter if I put the same bolt in the place it was before?
>If I'm using the same head bolts
they better be the non stretchy kind
I would imagine shuffling them to be put back randomly would probably be better if they are stretchy ones though
Pretty much what I'm thinking. I suppose a better question is how much does it cost to keep a 5 series maintained for a long period of time?
When there's a really long limousine or even a shorty limo is there a super long driveshaft going from the tranny to the rear on end or do they just make them front wheel drive?
Only applies to rwd vehicles obviously.
Am I doing harm by throwing my car in 6th gear to coast at 30 mph in my residential neighborhood?
The only reason I ask is because at 30 mph in 6th the engine is right around 1000-1100 rpm.
Should be fine coasting but I wouldn't try to accelerate with arpeeemms that low.
I might blip the throttle a bit to get back up to 30 when I start losing too much speed, but if I need to speed up I'll drop down to 3rd.
>they better be the non stretchy kind
I don't think so. They're whatever the previous owner put in, and the oil was black, so he probably didn't take good care of the car.
>I would imagine shuffling them to be put back randomly would probably be better if they are stretchy ones though
So, if they're not the stretchy kind?
Yah, big long drive shaft. Ever see a box truck? Dem shit's got big long drive shafts, too.
If they're not the stretchy kind you might be OK. But for something like head bolts it's usually standard practice to use new ones because who needs a head gasket leak and all the problems that can lead to, even if the problem is just that you have to go through the trouble of redoing the job?
People buy actual tools instead of just using a clamp.....?
I've always just taken the cap off the reservoir and fanagled a regular c-clamp on there somehow, often with the help of some other tool to get it clamped on to the right places.
Ive got a very small leak in the roof of my pickup somewhere. From what i can tell its not sealed properly from the window to ceiling. So when it rains small streams of water run down the back windshield. How do i seal this up?
Smoke a big blunt.
I believe there are products specifically for attaching windshields, which would be the Right Thing to do. However, I have had amazing luck with GE brand Silicone II caulk for automotive use. It sticks to just about anything and lasts for fucking ever.
Of course clean of dirt / rust / residue first. And if you intend to paint it rather than picking an inconspicuous color, make sure it says "paintable" on the tube because otherwise paint will not stick.
They're called Torque to Yield Bolts, and honestly as much of a pain in the ass most head jobs are, I'd rather not cheap out and have one of them inadvertently snap, or let the new gasket blow, when I could have just gotten newer ones.
Just make sure you smoke a big blunt first.
>70s g/a-bodies like a chevelle, Malibu or Monte Carlo?
You could probably swing a decent one for cheap, they tend to only really be popular with the Donk and Drag crowds anyways.
If you smoke a big blunt and look underneath its just a long drivetrain.
Make sure you smoke a big blunt first.
What is going on here?
Sounds like someone needs to smoke a big blunt.
What can I get for under $30k that's RWD and manual?
A few questions
I've got a 2003 Cavalier
>it burns about a quart give or take of oil every 2500-3000 miles depending on how much I thrash it. Is that normal?
>I need to change the sparkplugs as I am currently just over 100,000 miles as per the manual. How long can I let that slide, and what are things to watch out for when changing them? What are some good brands to use?
>I'm also planning on doing a coolant change, as I've had the car for a year but I have no idea when that was last done. I already have a 50/50 Dexcool and water jug but I really don't know what to do besides unplugging the drain plug at the bottom and letting it drain out. Wat do?
>I'm coming up on an oil change, I used Mobil high mileage synthetic with an STP filter but my car really doesn't need fancy expensive stuff as it suggests conventional for regular use. I'm planning on using Mobil Super but could I get a decent filter recommendation?
Believe it or not Google has been very conflicting in its answers so I'm hoping a GM user here knows. I'd really rather avoid buying the $25 Mechanic's Guide to GM at Autozone.
Pop open autotrader or something and find out. $30k used can go a long way, especially if you don't mind old.
A big Blunt.
You sound too stupid to try working on your own car.
You dont need to replace spark plugs pretty much ever. If you are getting misfires replace them, its like 60 bucks for a set.
Oil consumption is indicative of a leak at the head gasket. This is just going to be part of owning a 14 year old shitbox. No its not normal.
If I am right its not cost effective to replace the head gasket. You could TRY to slightly tighten the bolts on the header, but I wouldnt recommend it if you can afford the oil.
Also go smoke a big blunt.
>car makes horrible screeching noise from the engine bay
>ignore it for two months
>check the oil after two months
>dry
>ohshitohfuck
>pour a quart of oil in
>oil now 1/4 past the "minimum" level
>screeching noise stops
A-am I okay?
>a quart give or take of oil every 2500-3000
That's more than I'd want but usually manufactures say don't worry until it's a quart ever 1000mi or fewer. Check the manual if you want.
>How long can I let that slide, and what are things to watch out for when changing them?
Usually until it starts misfiring or not starting right or it sometimes it might be prone to pinging or you might notice your fuel mileage going down. Last car I had specified a change interval of 10k. I left them in for 50k because every time I took them out they looked great and didn't even need regapping.
>What are some good brands to use?
See if the manual has a recommendation, or just use whatever's in there now. Usually it doesn't matter except if it says you have to use a platinum-tipped plug or something special like that.
>I really don't know what to do besides unplugging the drain plug at the bottom and letting it drain out. Wat do?
That's pretty much it. After you undo the drain plug take off the radiator cap so it flows out easy. After you fill it back up, take it around the block and check the coolant level again. Repeat until it doesn't go down any further -- what you're doing here is burping any air out of the system.
>could I get a decent filter recommendation?
Standard Frams are generally regarded as crap, but tons of people use them without problem. I haven't looked at filter comparisons in years. Regular Purolines last cutaway test I looked at seemed decently constructed and it turns out that's the same as the manufacturer's OEM for my car so that's what I use. If you're not running it really hard, most anything should do. Changing the filter on time counts for more.
You probably done goofed hard, but there's nothing you can do about it now but make sure to keep checking your oil in case it starts drinking oil.
And start keeping some emergency cash around in case the engine shits the bed on you sooner than later.
Dude yeah you probably fucked up.
But hey its not the end of the world if its a used shitbox you dont plan on babying for another 10 years.
One time I drove 80 miles with no oil, I mean my hydraulic lifters were fuckign clicking under the hood.
Car ran for another 4 years.
>If its been doing this for two months without your light coming on you need to look into that.
>Get regular oil changes and if youve got a leak, check your oil every other week or so.
All I got is whiskey
>That's more than I'd want but usually manufactures say don't worry until it's a quart ever 1000mi or fewer. Check the manual if you want.
Manual says nothing about oil consumption unfortunately, just how often to change it. Every 3000 miles/3 months if "extreme conditions" and every 7500 miles/12 months if otherwise.
>Usually until it starts misfiring or not starting right or it sometimes it might be prone to pinging or you might notice your fuel mileage going down. Last car I had specified a change interval of 10k. I left them in for 50k because every time I took them out they looked great and didn't even need regapping.
The manual just says replace at 100,000 miles, no ifs ands or buts. So I figure I better do it.
>See if the manual has a recommendation, or just use whatever's in there now.
Ok, I'll see if Autozone has the same product code as the manual
>After you fill it back up, take it around the block and check the coolant level again. Repeat until it doesn't go down any further -- what you're doing here is burping any air out of the system.
Great, thanks!
>Changing the filter on time counts for more.
I'll keep that in mind. It's not even a detachable filter, you pop the filter element into the filter container of the car. You can actually inspect the filter itself.
B-but there was never a CEL or oil pressure light! It was only a quart low...can't be that bad r-right?
>The manual just says replace at 100,000 miles, no ifs ands or buts
Thats because they want you to never have a problem. You asked if you could let it slide and I told you can let it slide until you start having a problem. :)
>You can actually inspect the filter itself.
Unless it's torn or something I don't know what you would be looking at. If you can actually see shit caught in the filter your engine is pretty much toast already.
o also, the first time you take it around the block, keep going until it comes up to temperature. No sense trying to burp the system unless the thermostat is open; otherwise it will be at least partially bypassing the radiator.
I just payed 13K for a 2013 mustang v6. Am I a moron?
Well it wasn't "dry" if it was only a quart low. A quart low shouldn't kill you. But if was really the oil level that cured the squealing then whatever was squealing was getting worn to fuck.
Did you pay that much in 2013?
>Thats because they want you to never have a problem. You asked if you could let it slide and I told you can let it slide until you start having a problem. :)
Oh ok. So if I inspect them and see nothing amiss it's cool?
>Unless it's torn or something I don't know what you would be looking at. If you can actually see shit caught in the filter your engine is pretty much toast already.
Basically you have the filter without the aluminum it comes with. I was just commenting on how you don't need to cut it open to see.
>o also, the first time you take it around the block, keep going until it comes up to temperature. No sense trying to burp the system unless the thermostat is open; otherwise it will be at least partially bypassing the radiator.
So fill it up, go around until it hits the regular 195 degrees, then come back and check the level in the reservoir, fill it up again, rinse and repeat until full? But isn't the "MAX" level for when it is cold?
>So if I inspect them and see nothing amiss it's cool?
Should be. The electrode should be a reasonably even tan color, or maybe slightly greyish or a with a dusting of carbon color, and not pitted or decaying. You can find pictures comparing electrodes on the interbutts. And if you want to do it right, pick up a set of feeler gages from the Vatozone and check if the gap is within the specs that should be in the manual.
>how you don't need to cut it open to see.
oic. I'd still want to see the construction of the housing to understand what's important to consider, but I stand by saying most any replacable filter media should be fine for normal use. You can do a quick jewgle search on brand and model line to see if people are saying it's horrible for whatever reason.
>But isn't the "MAX" level for when it is cold?
If it's between min and max after you get it warm then you're within range. You can check again the next day when it's cool again if you want to see if you want to top it off a little more. The main thing is you're looking for if it goes too low after it warms up and you drive it around.
no
>Should be. The electrode should be a reasonably even tan color, or maybe slightly greyish or a with a dusting of carbon color, and not pitted or decaying. You can find pictures comparing electrodes on the interbutts. And if you want to do it right, pick up a set of feeler gages from the Vatozone and check if the gap is within the specs that should be in the manual.
Cool, I'll take a look at them tomorrow.
>I'd still want to see the construction of the housing to understand what's important to consider, but I stand by saying most any replacable filter media should be fine for normal use.
That makes sense desu. It's not like I, or most people, need race-grade materials for my daily commute and the occasional long distance trip.
> If it's between min and max after you get it warm then you're within range. You can check again the next day when it's cool again if you want to see if you want to top it off a little more. The main thing is you're looking for if it goes too low after it warms up and you drive it around.
Awesome, thanks a ton user you've really been a big help tonight! I'd send you a sixpack electronically if I could.
>$4000
Just buy the thing outright. If I had any drivable AW11 in my area for $4k, I would hop on it right away. Then again, I'm not near Cali.
>lawrence, KS
hold on, I might just scoop it up anyways
It looks really gay and I see one around campus a lot. It's got a tiny weak engine, but hey, at least it's light.
Basically, don't trust any MX car that isn't an MX-5
>You dont need to replace spark plugs pretty much ever
Should be replaced every 30-40k kms
>its like 60 bucks for a set.
Its like $15-20 bucks for a set
>Oil consumption is indicative of a leak at the head gasket.
It's far more likely a lack of piston ring compression
>No its not normal.
14 year old shitbox is pretty much assured to have some blowby
>If I am right
you probably aren't
>You could TRY to slightly tighten the bolts on the header
Why would that help anything
Dude, were you smoking a big blunt just now?
hey that's one of the coolest V6s ever.
Didn't realize it had a 1.8 V6. That's pretty cool, but still doesn't make much power for a car of that weight. It would be a lot cooler on a bike.
What are yoyr thoughts on the protege? Been wanting a project car and its about the cost of a 3k civic.
Would it be absolutely retarded of me to buy a WRX to DD? I want a car I'm in love with to DD. Something that makes me say "damn, I love this car" every morning when I get in it.
A WRX most commonly is a DD and works well as such. If the WRX makes you say
>damn, I love this car
even when you're in boring traffic or whatever your DD routine entails, then go right ahead.
I actually live in a rural area and commute in the super early morning before everyone else is up, so my commute is about 40 miles of country roads with no one else around.
I would love to, but this conveniently popped up weeks after spending my car money.
Also I still live with my mother and our driveway is full enough with her car and my cars so I couldn't get another anyways
Sounds pretty ideal m8.
I DDed an OBS for a while, which is a more lesbian slow econobox version of a WRX with more ground clearance. After sorting it out a bit it was a pretty enjoyable shitbox that could go wherever I needed. Doubtless a WRX would be a downright funbox under those conditions.
It's K. I'm broke anyways. Otherwise I'd totally nab that thing.
>pre-sunrise commutes along country roads
Literally the best
I'm about to buy a used Honda CRX Si this weekend for high dollar because I'm about to graduate college and I want a dream car and this one is rust free and appears to be absolutely in the best possible shape.
This will be my first car I've bought with my own money, and it's gonna be quite a time with babbys first loan payment. My question is how much will I regret buiying this the day after I get this, the month after, the year after, and after it's paid off? I need to know what I'm going to have to fight myself over in the immediate future because I know it's a stupid buy, but I want a hatch so bad.
You're taking a loan out on an at least 26 year old car??? Why would you do that? As great as the crx is its not THAT great
Because I love my Honda and I want a Sunday driver hatch that in 10 years I can drop a B16A into and build it to a near SiR level. Everyone has their dream car, mines a CRX and/or AE86 because I'm a huge fag.
I've asked how to work your way up to an engine swap and saved the answer but I can't find it now.
How do I work my way up to an engine swap?
I have a 10 year old car and love it, so I want to be able to swap engines on the side for fun, but I also want to be able to swap the engine of my baby when the day comes.
Knowing how to swap the same or similar engine would be nice for projects, but I also like the idea of dropping in a V8 with twin turbos or something and making my car a sleeper with 11k redline or something.
Are magnetic drain plugs a meme?
Should i buy a chevy bolt? it looks good and i haven't done any pricing from dealerships around me but i've got an in with one (worked with them+mom for ~15years)
or buy a used tesla with free super charging for ~$5,000 more?
>forced induction on an electric motor
Lol dummy
If they really helped and were necessary, the manufacturer would have included it from the factory. The oil filter generally should remove any debris that would get stuck to the drain plugs anyways.
Yeah that's pretty much what I was thinking. I saw one advertised in this magazine and couldn't help but think "isn't that the oil filters job?". Thanks for confirming.
i am dumb, idk what that means mate
I was just joking, superchargers are a forced induction device for engines (they use rotational energy from the engine to produce boost, pressurizing the air going into the engine in order to reach higher compression ratios, eg more power) and so I used "super charger" as a play on words.
A deer ran into my passenger front quarter panel, but it didn't leave a dent or anything. Any reason I should worry about any performance impact considering this? Google only really explained what to do if I actually hit the deer at speed, but I was stopped and it just slammed itself into my car.
If the car is handling fine then don't worry about it, it would've had to hit you with a stupid amount of force to damage the suspension.
ay ok
Thanks, nothing feels different so I'm going to call it good for now.
I've been thinking about buying a BMW but I can't stand the accelerator peddle is there a way to convert it to a normal accelerator peddle?
Can I put those banana shaped wipers on my 90s shitbox and are they any better than conventional wipers?
no idea, maybe some brand makes a model for yours
yes
nvm bought regular wipers, they didn't have cheap bananas anyway
I have a check engine light on in my dash, odb reader says it's some catalytic converter inefficiency issue.
I understand that this means my car is polluting more than it should, and maybe burning more fuel.
My question is this: can I damage the engine by driving the car in this state?
If it's running super duper rich you could wind up with excess fuel washing past the oil control rings on the pistons, causing extra wear and diluting your oil. But it's unlikely to be that bad.
I'd be a little more worried that you could shorten the life of your cat by running too rich for too long. But what the efficiency code usually means is that either your cat is already shot or that one of your O2 sensors is shot.
What happens is there's an O2 sensor before the cat that is used to achieve proper air/fuel ratio for the engine. Then there's another one after the cat to check if the cat is doing its job. If the rear sensor doesn't read as expected then the ECU throws the efficiency code.
Thanks a lot for the reply, very helpful.
I'll get this fixed next week after I get paid.
What are the things to generally look for when buying a USED trailer camper like this?
Buying a used Camper is like buying a used underwear.
get the license plate and make it wasn't stolen by dopers
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